This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
When accelerating on the highway and reaching 60mph, suddenly the acceleration stopped and the car began to go into limp mode. With no acceleration, I veered off the highway and was unable to throttle the car forward. When in park, the engine seemed to be "kicking" and struggled to stay on. Wrench light went on. Turned car off. Turned car back on after a long hesitated start and the vehicle was able to move forward with acceleration. Wrench light came off. I took the car to the Ford dealership and they told me I needed a new throttle body. I replaced the throttle body. Similar issue happened with a friend of mine, same year, make, and model. His was under warranty, mine not.
My Ford Escape has stalled 11 times in the past five days. It has happened at various speeds, ranging from 20 mph to 65 mph. The first 8 times the vehicle stalled (as if out of gear), the "wrench" light came on the dash, and I was able to coast to the side of the road. As I came to a final stop each time, the vehicle would jerk and then I was finally able to put the car in park. I turned the vehicle off and attempted to restart. The vehicle had trouble starting but finally came back on. Again, the same description above happened all 8 times. These incidents caused some very dangerous situations, one where the vehicle stalled as I was crossing the street to turn left and it stalled in the middle of the road and another time when it stalled going 65 mph down the interstate with cars flying up behind me.I did not immediately take the vehicle in to be checked because I thought I just had a bad batch of gasoline. The last 3 times the incident happened (car stalled and the gas pedal would not work) but the "check engine" light came on and stayed on. I took the vehicle to the dealership this morning and was told that I need a new throttle body and it is not covered under warranty. I am terrified to drive this vehicle again and become anxious at every busy intersection wondering if it will stall out again. I have read many consumer complaints about this same issue and ask that Ford do a recall on this part before a fatality occurs.
I was driving and the vehicle stalled. I turned the engine off and restarted it drove fine almost a week later it happened again maybe 3 miles from my home I turned engine off and restarted drove about 1 mile and it done it again and picture of a wrench came on instrument panel I drove about 1 mile again and stalled again. I started vehicle again and the check engine light was on and I made it to my driveway. Had vehicle towed to Ford dealership and the called and said it is the electronic throttle body and would be a few days because they have to order the part and it will be $349. I was surfing the web to see what the part was when I say this page about others having the same problem.
I was driving home on the highway during rush hour. A yellow wrench light began flashing on the lower left side of the dashboard. I felt the engine lose power and saw that the car was decelerating. I pressed on the gas pedal with no effect. I signaled and moved over to the shoulder of the road. Approximately 10 feet after I reached the shoulder, the car stopped moving forward and stalled. I turned it off, let it sit for a few minutes and attempted to turn it on again. The engine would not turn over. I called and had the car towed to the Ford dealership. In speaking to the mechanic the next day, he told me E problem was a failed throttle body and would need to be replaced. This dealership was back ordered for the part as 5 other Ford vehicles were awaiting a new throttle body. Upon researching this issue, I realized that my vehicle also experienced a "lurching forward" which was likely also related to the throttle body. This lurching had been going on for several months at intermittent times.
- West Suffield, CT, USA
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Driving down the road, car stalled or seemed like it stalled when I stepped on the gas nothing happened so I had to coast to the side of the road in the middle of traffic, once to the side of the road the car started sputtering at idle. Had to turn off and restart car it would work fine for a little while then happened again. This happened 4 times within the half hour it took for me to get home. There have been other incidences where I'd be driving down the road and the car just "kicks" ahead, usually after leaving a red light or stopped position. Car is in the garage as we speak (7-22-13)because the part is on back order and isn't expected to be ready until Friday, 7-26-13.
After traveling for a approximately 45 minutes, my car stopped accelerating down the road. At this point my gas pedal would not make a difference in RPM or speed, then my engine began shaking violently. I barely was able to make it to the shoulder of the interstate. Then, a wrench light came on the dash of my vehicle. I then turned the ignition off. Upon restarting the vehicle, the light was gone and the gas pedal worked once more. I merged into traffic and continued on my trip with slight hesitation on the remainder of my trip. This whole scenario happened again on the 19th of July 2013 only 20 minutes into my trip home. Vehicle is currently at Ford dealership being checked out.
My car has "missed" or "skipped" a couple of times in the past few weeks. Yesterday, it quit pulling. The motor was still running, but would not accelerate. The engine light and the wrench light came on. When I was able to pull over, while coasting, I turned off the ignition - restarted the car, and drove another 2 miles, and it happened again. I restarted the car, drove another couple of miles, and it did it again. I was able to get my car home, which was only 2 miles from where I stopped the last time. I understand it's a problem with the throttle body - an ongoing problem with Ford Escape. My Escape will go to the dealership tomorrow.
My vehicle stalled while I was turning - this is the fourth time I have had it serviced for stalling - the other three times they have accused me of filling it too much, which I do not - and they have changed the fuel vapor store - evap canister. Obviously, this is not the problem. I also have transmission issues where it jerks and makes a loud noise into reverse. I love my car, but can't deal with the issues it continually gives me - my next car will be a GM product.
As I was approaching a stop light of an intersection, the car lost all power and I could not accelerate when stepping on the gas pedal. When the car did lose power, the wrench light came on immediately but no other lights were illuminated except for the wrench light. I was basically stuck in the middle of the intersection trying to coast alone to the other side. The car was finally able to coast to the other side at no more than 1 mph and I was able to pull into a shopping center parking lot. I turned the car off and let it sit there momentarily. I then tried to restart the car and it was difficult for the engine to turn over and start. However, it finally did. The wrench light was not illuminated when the car did start. I was fortunately able to drive the car back home. The car will be taken to the dealership for inspection and testing.
I was driving approximately 45 mph on road when the vehicle lost power. The vehicle began decelerating and pushing the accelerator was useless. It began jerking, like it was trying to shift back into gear or down since there was a sudden decrease in speed. I was able to coast into a parking lot and put in into park. I turned the car off and allowed it to sit for a moment. I attempted to turn the car back on. It took a moment for it to kick over, but eventually it did. I got back out onto the road. The same thing happened again not more than 100 feet down the road. Again I pulled it to a parking lot and shut the engine off. I was able to drive it home after that with no issues. I took the vehicle to the Ford dealership and was informed the throttle body needed to be replaced.
Car drifted to a stop while in gear. Turned off ignition. Restated car. It accelerated in park without having foot on gas peddle. Tried driving again, the car repeated this pattern 3 more times. Finally got it to operate after letting it rest for several minutes. I was a wreck driving it home, 5 miles. The car was bought used only 4 days prior to the incident. It has ruined my confidence in this vehicle.
Driving home from work, I was traveling at aprox. 35mph when it first happened. My RPM gauge started to "bounce" from 1 to 4 repeatedly. Make it very hard to stop and could not give it gas. At the same time, my power-train warning light came on along with my check engine light. I was able to pull over and call for assistance.
I was driving down a neighborhood street, when without warning, I suddenly had no power at all. My acceleration was gone, and I thought that the engine had died, however everything was running, and the engine light was not on. I pumped the gas pedal and got nothing, fortunately there was a convenience store coming up on my right, which I was able to turn into. At that point I noticed the "wrench" icon lighted up on the dashboard, I thought it might be a good idea to turn the engine off and see if it was a glitch, since I had just had the oil changed at the dealership earlier in the day. At least I was hoping that was the case. The car started perfectly, it took a few seconds to shake itself, which still worried me, and proceeded to act normally as I drove home, where I currently am. I advised my son about what happened and he checked up on auto defects on the Ford Escape and brought them to my attention, that is why I am reporting what happened to me today. I will be bringing this to the attention of the dealership first thing tomorrow morning due to my needing the use of my vehicle for work.
I was driving down the road at 40 mph and my vehicle just quit running (lost power) and I had to pull over to the side of the road. The engine light came on when this happened, it looked like a wrench figure on the dash. After letting my Escape sit for about 30 seconds, it started right up. After it started, I put it in drive and proceeded to go down the road and after about two miles, my vehicle quit running again. After a few seconds of sitting, I started it up again and managed to get into a Ford dealership and they said the problem was a throttle problem and replaced the part which cost me $342. The dealership said this had been a problem with many Escapes and said this part may be on the verge of a recall.
While driving at speed, the vehicle instantly lost power. Gas pedal was non-responsive. I was able to pull the vehicle to a safe spot off the main roadway. When the vehicle was put into park, it idled roughly and the orange wrench warning light came on. Turned the vehicle off and waited a few seconds. Turned the vehicle back on and was able to return home without further incident. Took vehicle to local dealer service the next day and was informed that this is a known problem and that the repair part needed is currently on extensive backorder, maybe up to several weeks. The primary concern over this type of issue is that it could occur to someone who is at highway speed and would be unable to reach a stopping point safely. The fact that the part needed to fix the issue is on extensive backorder indicates that this is hardly an isolated incident.
Was driving to the airport and car stalled, picture of a wrench display on the dash. Next case was about 10 days later, was driving local and car stalled 5 times before I made it. Both picture of the wrench and check engine light came on. Parked car until morning, stalled twice on the way to work then got it to the dealership to be fixed. Was told it was the throttle.
I was on my way to work and when I accelerated to pull a small incline and there was a loud pop, a real hard jerk and I had no gears at all. The wrench indicator came on, I turned my emergency flasher on, shut me engine off. Thanks goodness I was in a construction zone and the speed was reduced or else I could have been seriously injured. I restarted my engine and finally was able to get it in low to be able to make it to the nearest wide spot to get out of the middle of the 4-lane. I immediately took it to a Ford dealer in my area and they kept it 5 days and I was notified on Tuesday, that they couldn't find anything wrong. It is still doing the exact same thing, shifts hard, hesitates to shift, revs up to 5000 - 5500 RPM's but won't do over 20 mph. It jerks and make some terrible noises. Also yesterday while trying to pull a hill near my home, it would not pull it and I had a vehicle traveling behind me and all I could do was pray that he wouldn't hit me. I had to pull of the side of the road, shut my engine off in order to it to take off and pull again. I have two small children and this vehicle is not safe to have them in on the highway, it isn't safe for anyone to be on the highway in. I have did some online research and have found numerous complaints on the same make and model on mine. Ford needs to recall the vehicles and fix them before someone does get seriously hurt or even killed. Any assistance that you can provide in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Vehicle lost power while traveling on highway. Throttle control/power train warning light illuminated. Navigated car to shoulder of highway, turned ignition off and on. Car accelerated normally to 60 mph, once again lost power and warning light once again illuminated. Navigated car off highway, turned ignition off and on. Drove slowly home, warning light did not come on again.
On wed July 3, I was backing it out of garage to take a trip to san antonio. I pulled out onto the street to leave when all of a sudden I lost all power. The check engine light came on along with a tool wrench. I looked in the manual and it said throttle problem. I turned it off and started it again and it drove perfect for half a block and lost power again. Finally I got it around the block and put it back in the garage where it sits, until I can find out if this is a Ford defect.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Montgomery, IL, USA